Life Meets Work Blog

The unemployment rate hit 9.4 in May, the highest in more than 25 years.  The good news? The pace of layoffs is slowing and has been for four straight months.

But, those numbers don’t tell the whole picture. If laid-off workers who have given up looking for new jobs or have settled for part-time work are included, the unemployment rate would have been 16.4 percent in May, reports the Associated Press.

And plenty of “fulltime” workers are working plenty less, with the average work week in May falling to 33.1 hours, the lowest since 1964.

For many, those lost hours and lost overtime are a hardship.  This blogger knows one manufacturer in her city where workers decided they couldn’t make ends meet on a 4-day work week, eventually driving management to implement layoffs instead.

Plenty here to dissect. Is team atmosphere lacking at this company? Did they feel confident they could find other jobs or at least enough under the table work to supplement unemployment? Or worse, was this a work ethic issue—i.e. ‘I can’t make ends meet working four days a week, but I’ll manage if I can have free time on unemployment.’ Impossible to say.

But supposedly, these folks are an anomaly. According to one recent study, more than 9 out of 10 employees (94%) would be willing to accept a change or reduction in their schedule, or take a pay cut to avoid layoffs.

The survey, sponsored by Work+Life Fit, was conducted in late March 2009. Here’s a sampling of what employees said they’d be willing to sacrifice:

•    59% would take a furlough (1-2 weeks unpaid leave)
•    47% would work reduced hours with reduced pay
•    41% would be willing to take a pay cut but work the same hours
•    31% would take an unpaid sabbatical

Let’s give a collective nod of appreciation to those companies finding alternatives to layoffs.  And let’s give another thank you to those employees willing (and financially able) to take a hit.

Posted by Jaime

The recently passed stimulus package includes incentives to states to expand unemployment coverage—to include people looking for part-time work, people who left jobs to care for a sick family member, and spouses of a transferred employee.

Advocates say the changes would benefit women who are more likely to be part-time workers due to caregiver responsibilities. They also argue that expansion is necessary to help those most in need—namely low income, part-time workers.

Meanwhile, critics point out that nearly half of the nation’s state unemployment coffers are already running dry.  They also argue that modifying unemployment rules would create a marked shift from unemployment insurance to an unemployment benefit that will do nothing to stimulate the economy or foster job growth.

Posted by Jaime.